


Where ravens will be knights

by EsmerianDreamer



Series: Hetalian Fairytales [5]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, Inspired by the book and the tv series, Raveleijn AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26234332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsmerianDreamer/pseuds/EsmerianDreamer
Summary: A Raveleijn AU. Don't judge me----After moving to the countryside, the children of the Fernandez Carriedo family mostly feel out of place at first. Then one day, Antonio finds a gate in the woods, leading him and his older siblings into the past and changing them into 5 knights.Now in the medieval area of Ravenbosch, the 5 siblings find out about a prophecy regarding the grand city of Raveleijn, and its oppressive count Edelstein. If Raveleijn was ever in danger, 5 knights would be summoned to free the city.And the local rebels have every reason to believe that these 5 siblings are these knights.---Please do not copy to other sites without my permission.Raveleijn belongs to the Efteling and Paul van Loon.
Relationships: Austria/Hungary (Hetalia), But you can probably guess if you know me, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Hetalian Fairytales [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582621
Kudos: 4





	1. The move

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I know, I keep changing the ages of the Fernandez Carriedo kids, bite me- Enjoy my guilty pleasure project!

Nobody of the Fernandez Carriedo family was speaking during the  carride . Isabel and Ramon had their eyes on the road, checking the map once in a while. Antonio was engrossed in his 3DS game, biting his lip in concentration. Miguel was sketching in his notebook, making notes on the nature they passed by. The twins, Carmen and Michelle, were messing around on their phones, showing each other Instagram pictures. And Gabriel was just  staring out the window, barely listening to the music that was blaring through his headphones.

A victorious piece of music suddenly played from Antonio's 3DS, making the 7-year-old cheer and poke his oldest brother. "Gabriel, look! I beat the monster!~"

Gabriel took his headphones off and glanced at the screen. "Ah, well done, Toño." He chuckled, ruffling the other's curls. "All by yourself?"

"No, Miguel helped." Antonio mused, grinning brightly. Miguel glanced over and just chuckled. "Well, you're stronger if you work together, after all."

"Okay, Mr. 'I am 14, and this is deep.'" Gabriel teased back, making the other roll his eyes and return to his book. After a bit, Gabriel spoke up again. 

"Hey, were we  gonna be told where we're going any time soon, or...? Because I do need to be back home on time to practice with the band."

Ramon glanced at the children through the  rearview mirror for a moment, smiling. "It's a surprise." He mused with a wink.

"You said that 2 hours ago." Michelle whined. "Yeah, just tell us already." Carmen whined as well.

Isabel and Ramon exchanged a look and seemed to give in. "We are on our way to Ravenhorst. It's one of the last surviving towns of the county  Ravenbosch . I went there with my grandparents a lot when I was  Toño's age."

"Oh, great, an old village. Fun." Gabriel sighed. Michelle and Carmen also made a bit of a face, not really interested either. Miguel and Antonio seemed the only ones who seemed interested, but it was expected that the nerd and the kid obsessed with all things  medieval would like an old town.

Their parents ignored their general lack of enthusiasm, only driving further. After a bit, the car drove into the streets of Ravenhorst. The children peered out their windows as they drove down the cobbled path. The people that walked around clearly knew the family did not belong here, and watched the large car with a faint frown.

"Well, I feel welcome." Gabriel mumbled, leaning back in his  carseat . Antonio nearly climbed into his lap to look outside the window as well. "I think it's  cool!~ " He grinned, beaming up at his brother.

"I think so too. Look at that architecture, it must be dating back to at least the 1400's~" Miguel mused, looking around in awe. "Yeah, same goes for the people." Michelle said, huffing as she noticed an old lady nearly throwing the car a deathglare.

The car soon stopped near a bench, where two elderly men sat. Ramon rolled down his window, giving the two men a friendly smile. "Ah, excuse me, but could you please tell me where the old inn is?"

The two men just stared at them, grumpy and silent. Isabel tried her best to smile politely as well. "Ramon, perhaps they're a bit hard of hearing..." She mumbled, then raised her voice a bit at the two men. "The old inn?"

One of the men lifted his chin a bit, as if he now understood. Even though one of his eyes was covered with an eyepatch, he seemed to look straight into their souls. "That's not in the village. You'll need to go that way." He grumbled, pointing a knobby finger towards the path leading back out of the village.

"Ah, thank you very much!" Isabel smiled, waving them goodbye as Ramon drove the car off. The two elders watched the car go, frowning.

"The old inn? You should've warned them, Romulus." The man said to his eye-patched friend. Romulus just shrugged, shaking his head. "Why would I? They would've never believed me. What's in the past, is in the past, William. We  cannot change that."

* * *

When the car drove onto the courtyard of the building, they were greeted by a man standing by a fancy car. Ramon smiled and went to shake the man's hand. The man smiled as well.

"Well, I'm glad you're here, Mr. And Mrs. Fernandez Carriedo. Here are the keys."

He pressed some keys and a folder of papers into Ramon's hands, and then made a beeline for his car. Ramon could just manage to grab the  car door . "Wait, hold on a minute, aren't you going to show us the inside of the house...?"

The man looked terrified by the idea. "Ah... N-No, I can't. Just got a phone-call, very important. Once you're done with the sighting, you can bring the keys back to our office." He managed to pry Ramon's hand off and closed the door, quickly speeding off.

Miguel frowned in confusion. "Who was the  scaredy -cat?" He mused, helping Antonio out of the car.

"That ah... That was the estate agent." Isabel mused. 

"Estate agent?" Carmen asked, eyes widening a bit.

"Yes, the estate agent. This is the surprise. Your mother and I are thinking of buying this house." Ramon smiled.

"You mean as like a vacation house, right?" Gabriel asked, narrowing his eyes. Ramon just smiled a bit, gesturing at the front door. "Why don't we go inside first?"

As they walked up to the front door, a sudden sound from a dormer made them look up. Miguel lit up. "Oh, look, it's a raven!" He mused, pointing at the bird. "Look, it must be a  juvenile still, see the eyes?"

"Oh, what a beautiful creature." Isabel smiled. "Yes, very pretty, I just hope he won't make a nest in the chimney." Ramon mused. "Well then, let's go inside."

The key was still an old brass key, and the lock opened with a heavy 'clunk'. Antonio coughed a bit when he wanted to rush inside to look. Once the dust was waved away a bit, the family walked inside.

Gabriel frowned at the sight of abandoned work ladders, dried out pints of paints standing around. He grabbed an abandoned wallpaper scraper, and placed it back down, looking at the half-scraped walls. "The last owners must've changed their minds."

"Smells weird here." Michelle huffed. "Yeah, like spoiled milk." Carmen agreed, scrunching up her nose.

"I think it's pretty cool!~" Antonio grinned, running around the mostly empty room. Miguel took the papers from his father, reading through the description of the house.

"The characteristic building has been renovated partially. The formal taproom has been transformed into a modern living space, suited for a large family."

"Tap room? What's a tap room?" Antonio mused, going over to Miguel to try and read too. Miguel just smiled a bit. "A taproom is an old word for a café or restaurant. This used to be an inn, so people would have dinner here."

"Indeed, tired  travellers would rest by this old fireplace and drink beer together." Ramon mused, pulling a large sheet away from the old fireplace, waving away the dust. "And look, over here, that must've been the bar, where the innkeeper cared for his guests. They don't use wood like this anymore~"

"Like they should." Gabriel huffed, crossing his arms. "Dad, really? Are you really expecting us to spend every vacation here? This is an out-dated ruin, in the middle of nowhere. We'll be bored to death."

"Well.." Ramon started, looking around. "We weren't thinking of buying this as a  vacation house... More as a house-house. Like a home."

"You mean we're  gonna live here?" Antonio beamed. "That's so  cool!~ This is like a big castle, and I'll be a knight!~"

"But Papa! What about our friends?" Carmen protested.

"Yes, girls, I know this is a very big surprise,  but.. "

"No, eating an  icecream , that's a surprise." Michelle huffed. "This is something entirely different!"

"What kind of a sick joke is this?!" Gabriel finally managed to sputter out. "You must be joking."

"No,  cariño , we've thought about this very well. This house is way bigger than our old house, you can all have your own rooms, and I can even use the old stable as my painting studio." Isabel smiled.

"And what about your work as a surgeon? Will you work in another hospital, around here?" Miguel asked, looking at his father in disbelief.

"Well, no. You see, this house comes with a bit of land on which there is a wine orchard. I've always wanted to produce my own wine." Ramon smiled.

"What the- Have you lost your mind?!" Gabriel protested. Ramon shook his head. "No, no, I have not. This house would be the perfect new start for us. We can even fit a good  dogbed over there."

" Dogbed ?" Michelle and Carmen echoed. Isabel smiled. "Well, our house in the city is a bit too small for a dog, but you could have one here, if this all goes through."

"Really?? Oh, thank you!" Michelle cheered, hugging her mother tightly. Carmen beamed too, hugging her dad.

Gabriel threw his hands up, walking back to the door. "No, no, I'm out, I'm going back to the car. I'm not listening to you bribing your own children." He called, stomping out and going back to the car. Giving a frustrated sigh, he flopped into the back seat, pulling out his phone and calling his friend.

"..Hey man. Well, they dragged us to this dump called Ravenhorst. Said they want to buy a house here. Yeah, I had the same reaction, they can't make me. Well, it's about 3 hours by car, but still. Yeah, I can be there tonight."

A knock on the window made him look up. His mother stood there, giving him a small smile. Gabriel sighed and turned his attention back to his  phonecall . "Hey, they're coming to get me, probably to drag me to some  farmers market or something. See you tonight." He hung up and opened the car door.

Isabel sighed, gesturing her eldest to walk with her. " Cariño , your father and I have given this a lot of thought. I know this is the hardest on you. I mean, Antonio will find new friends around here, Michelle and Carmen were going to a new school anyway, and Miguel likes his books more than socializing. But you, well, I understand how difficult this is for you."

Gabriel sighed, leaning against a  fence . "...Mom, just... Can you just leave me for a moment? I need to think."

She smiled lightly, patting his arm. "Alright. I'll get back inside. Your father wants to show me some things." She rubbed his shoulder. "It'll be alright, I promise."

Gabriel watched her walk off, and sighed, kicking some pebbles away. He stared out at the forest that was near the house. Antonio would love it here, he knew that. The kid would probably drag them out there to build huts and play knight. And Miguel would probably be documenting every creature and plant that was found in there. 

His only hope at this not going through were the twins, but if his parents could bribe them with a freaking puppy, they weren't any help either. Cursing softly under his breath, Gabriel stalked back to the car, and sat in his seat. He turned his music up high, and waited until they would drive back home.

* * *

The next week, it seemed for a blissful period of time that this whole move might not go through. Gabriel's friends had laughed in sympathy when they practiced that night after the news.

"Ravenhorst? I wouldn't want to be found dead there, now would you?"

Gabriel had just chuckled and sighed. "Well, in case it goes through, we'll have to send clips to each other. I mean, it's a bit of a journey every week after school, so... But I'll of course come over for the performances."

"Of course! We  ain't dropping you, you're one of the best  bassplayers here. We'll keep in touch if your parents decide to go through with this weird idea."

It had given him some hope, that even if his parents were too caught up in their 'adventure', he wouldn't suffer too much. Besides, maybe they would not go through with it, seeing how 3/5 of their children did not like the move.

That hope kind of died one afternoon. Gabriel came home from school and went to the kitchen to grab a drink, letting out a sigh. Miguel was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop, likely doing homework. He looked over at Gabriel, who had grabbed a can of cola.

"Hey, did you know that back in medieval times, the county of  Ravenbosch had this giant fortified city called  Raveleijn ? It was the main city, but it was gone by the beginning of the 1500's."

"And I should  care.. why?" Gabriel huffed, sitting down at the table to drink his soda. Miguel shrugged and scrolled through a webpage. " Dunno . It would be nice to know a bit more about the place we're moving to."

Gabriel nearly spat out some of his drink, looking at his younger brother, who gave him a look. "Mig, no, tell me they  didn't.. "

"Sorry. I heard it from dad. Their bid was accepted this afternoon. We'll move there once summer break starts."

Letting his head drop to the table, Gabriel let out a frustrated groan. "This is bullshit. This is such bullshit." He grumbled, muffled by the table. Miguel sighed. "I know. But I'm sure we'll be okay."

"You might, I won't." Gabriel huffed, getting up and going to the garden to cool off and finish his drink. Antonio was playing there, covered in mud, and grinned at the sight of his oldest brother. 

"Gaby, did you hear? We're  gonna move! Cool, right?"

Gabriel just forced a smile and sighed. "..Yeah. I guess."


	2. The map

_ He was running, but he didn't know why he was running. The cawing of birds surrounded him. Loud hoofbeats followed him, hunted him, scared him. The forest was dense, but he had to keep running. He could not be caught, that would be worse than death. _

_ A bright light suddenly seemed to scare his pursuers away, the hoofbeats retreating. The light dimmed to reveal a woman, dressed in dark-blue, feathers covering her skirt. Her eyes were sad, but she smiled, her brown hair nearly floating around her form. _

_ "Who are you?" He asked. _

_ "Who I am does not matter, Gabriel. I need you to find me. I need all of you to find me." _

_ "Why?" _

_ " _ _ Raveleijn _ _ needs your help. I need your help." She suddenly smiled brighter.  _

_ "Breakfast is ready." _

* * *

He opened his eyes to see his mother standing there, chuckling. "Well, you were out cold. C'mon, we're waiting for you." She mused, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah.. I'll be there in a minute." Gabriel yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"..Did you hear anything from the guys?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Summer break. They're all on holiday or something."

"Why don't you invite them over here soon? Show them the new place? You'll have to clean up a bit then.." Isabel mumbled, looking at the mess.

"..Why would they come all this way?"

"To see one of their friends, silly. But if it's too much of a journey for them, you can go their way too." She smiled, before leaving the room.

Gabriel didn't answer, getting up. He looked around his room for a moment. They had lived here for a week now, and he still felt out of place. Sighing, he went to grab a shirt that still smelled alright, and then made his way down to breakfast.

Breakfast was kind of dull, at least to Gabriel. The twins seemed very happy to hear that today they would have internet, but were a bit bummed out when their dad said that would have to wait, as he needed to make a little trip with them. The way he said it made it clear the 'trip' was a surprise.

Antonio went to play in the woods once he'd emptied his plate, and Gabriel decided to go and call his friends to try and arrange a get-together. Unsurprisingly, it went to voicemail.

"Hey dude. I was wondering if you guys wanted to hang out soon, maybe jam out. Let me know so I can catch a bus in time, okay? Alright, see you."

He hung up with a sigh, and went to sit in the garden to just play some guitar in peace. Miguel seemed to have the same idea, sitting and reading nearby. For a long while, they just sat in silence, save for the little cords Gabriel played.

The silence was broken by Antonio suddenly running back into the garden, going over to his brothers. "Gaby, Mig, I found something cool, come look!"

"I don't want to play right now, Toño." Gabriel sighed. Antonio pouted at that, and grabbed Miguel's arm, trying to drag him along. Miguel sighed, putting his book away and giving Gabriel a slight look, before letting his little brother pull him along.

Antonio dragged him over to a patch of ground, just a little bit into the forest. It seemed to be a half buried chest, and Antonio had clearly been trying to dig it up. "Can you help? It could be a treasure!~"

Miguel chuckled. "Alright, alright, give me your shovel." He mused. After a bit of moving the shovel around, he managed to hook it under the small chest, and pushed the handle down to lift it out of the ground. Antonio helped him pull it out, and tried to open it. "..It's stuck."

"We probably have some tools back in the shed, c'mon."

Antonio nodded and walked after him, carrying the small chest. Miguel managed to find some tools to break open the lock, and after a bit of struggle, the chest popped open. It seemed to be empty, save for a rolled up scroll.

"Wait, careful. It could be a very old scroll," Miguel said before Antonio could grab it. "We need to be gentle with it, so it doesn't tear or anything." Carefully, he lifted it out, and unrolled it. Antonio looked over his shoulder at what was revealed.

"It's a treasure map!" He cheered. Miguel chuckled lightly. "Perhaps. But I think it's something different. Look, this seems to be a map of the area, but a very old one. See, it says Raveleijn on there."

"Whoa... So cool!~"

"What did you two find?" Gabriel mused, walking over. Antonio happily pointed at the map. "I found a treasure map!"

"It's an old map of the area. Probably from back in the 1400's. Fasinating, right? We should bring it to a museum." Miguel mused.

"No, I found the map, it's mine." Antonio pouted, trying to reach for it. Gabriel shook his head in amusement. “Alright, alright. Let me see that for a sec.”

Miguel handed him the map, very carefully. Gabriel sighed and took it, looking it over.  ".. Huh. Pretty cool. Where did you find it?"

"In the forest. A raven told me where it was." Antonio mused, making grabby hands for the map again. Miguel blinked a bit as Gabriel gave the map back to their little brother. "...A raven told you?"

"Hm-hm. Kinda. There was a voice, and then there was a raven. It was sitting where the chest was." Antonio mused, clearly absorbed in his find.

Before Miguel and Gabriel could pry further, they heard happy squealing and a dog barking from the courtyard. Curious, they went to see what the fuss was about.

Getting to the courtyard, they were greeted by Michelle and Carmen playing with a brown puppy. Its fur was curly and poufy, making it look like a living teddy bear as it toddled around, barking in excitement.

"It's a dog!" Antonio cheered, running over to play too. Michelle giggled, picking the puppy up to show to Antonio. "This is Rizada, our own dog~"

"Rizada." Gabriel repeated, holding back his laugher. "You named the poor thing 'Curly'. Really?"

"It fits her!" Carmen protested with a pout. Miguel gave a bit of a shrug. "I mean, it does. She's a Spanish water dog, isn't she? Those are very curly."

"I like Rizza!" Antonio said as the puppy licked his face. "She's nice."

"I guess." Gabriel shrugged. "Still think she's just dad's way of bribing you guys."

"She is not!" Michelle countered. "She so is." Gabriel mused.

Before they could start a game of "No way, yes way", Ramon stepped out of the house with a smile. "Ah, I see you've met our newest family member. Say, why don't you guys take a walk with her? Might help her get used to the 5 of you."

Gabriel wanted to protest, but sighed with a nod. Well, what could it  hurt. The twins would have the dog, he could take a walk. What could happen.

* * *

He wished he hadn't thought that.

About half an hour later, it was clear that even though  Rizada was small, she was still strong enough to yank herself loose to chase a squirrel. The dog was quite fast too, speeding off into the bushes. The five siblings tried to chase after her, then decided to split off to cover more ground to find her.

So, now here he was, walking through the woods to look for his sisters' puppy. Miguel and Antonio were calling for the dog, while Gabriel trailed after them with growing annoyance. After a while, he sat down on a stump.

"This is ridiculous."

Miguel stopped and frowned at his brother. "Gaby, c'mon."

"I'm not walking through the woods to look for that stupid mutt, Michelle should've held on tighter."

"Gabriel. You're being stubborn. Michelle had no idea that  Rizada was so strong. Let's just keep looking for her, before-"

Miguel cut himself off as he looked around. They were alone on the path. "....Where's Antonio?"

"Oh, come on, first the dog, now Toni?!" Gabriel growled, standing up. "Antonio? Antonio, where are you, this is not funny! Toni!"

There were only the sounds of the woods answering them. Gabriel cursed under his breath. "I can't fucking believe this... Antonio!" He called, walking down the path.

"Gabriel! Miguel!"

The two of them turned to see Carmen and Michelle running over to them, the puppy safely in Carmen's arms. Miguel gave a sigh.

"You found her, good."

"Yeah, she was found by this creepy guy though!" Michelle said, frowning. "It was this guy from the village, you know, the one with the eyepatch? He had her by her collar and said all this cryptic stuff about ravens and how we can't trust them."

"Yeah! And how the birds wouldn't hesitate to eat a small thing like her! So creepy." Carmen shivered, petting  Rizada , who seemed pretty shaken too.

"Well, good that you found the dog, but we got another problem. Antonio wandered off when we weren't paying attention." Gabriel interrupted.

"You mean when you got all grumpy and refused to walk further." Miguel countered.

"I was not-!"

"Guys, cut it out." Michelle huffed. "Yeah, we should be looking for Toni." Carmen added.

Gabriel rubbed a hand down his face. "Fine. Let's just go then." He grumbled, leading his siblings down the path.

They had barely walked a few hundred feet before Antonio came stumbling out of the woods again, looking rather frazzled. Gabriel frowned, rushing over to him at seeing the scrapes and cuts on his youngest brother. "Toni, what happened?!"

"I... I'm okay. Sorry I was gone for so long." Antonio mumbled, letting his brother check the scrapes.

"Toni, you were maybe gone for a minute or 5, it's fine. You did scare us though, don't run off like that again." Miguel mused.

This made Antonio look up at them, confused. " I.. I was gone for an hour. I'm sure I was. That raven I saw took me to a gate, and when I went through it, I was a knight."

The others kind of frowned in confusion at that, until Gabriel shook his head in amusement. "I think you fell and hit your head, Toni. C'mon, let's get you home and get those scrapes fixed."

Antonio tried to protest a bit, but quieted down as his sisters took him by the hand and began to walk home with him. Miguel frowned a bit, glancing back at where Antonio had stumbled out of the woods. A raven sat in a nearby tree, staring at them with rather... intelligent eyes. Like it was studying them.

"Miguel! You coming or what?"

Miguel jumped a bit at Gabriel's voice, rushing to catch up with his siblings again. When he glanced back at the tree again, the raven was gone.

* * *

The damage wasn't too severe. Nothing a few bandages and a kiss on Antonio's forehead from their mother couldn't fix. Soon enough, the boy was playing in the garden again, although he seemed a bit distant.

Ramon kept an eye on his youngest, even though he'd checked him for a concussion. The fact that Antonio was acting different was a sign he had to pay attention just in case. If things got worse, he'd take him to the hospital.

Luckily, everything seemed to be going better by dinner time. Antonio was his happy self again, eating with a smile and telling wild stories about this gate he supposedly found. He played with  Rizada after dinner, helping  Michelle and Carmen train the puppy. Everything seemed fine.

However, it was in the middle of the night, that there was cause for alarm. Miguel jumped awake when Carmen shook him, staring at her and giving a confused grunt.

“ Wha..? ”

“Antonio just walked outside. I think he’s sleepwalking.”

Miguel frowned, rubbing his eyes. “Shouldn’t we wake mom and dad  then..? ”

“And risk losing him in the woods again? It’ll take too long, c’mon!”

Miguel yelped a bit as his sister dragged him out of bed, but did as she asked and quickly slipped on his shoes and jacket.

Once she dragged him out into the hallway, Gabriel seemed to have been woken up just as violently, as Michelle was practically dragging him down the stairs. Once they were downstairs, they could see Carmen and Michelle had not been lying, as they saw Antonio disappear between the trees.

"Shit. C'mon." Gabriel cursed, rushing outside. His siblings ran after him, Miguel soon by his side.

"We can't wake him up, Gabriel, that's bad if you're sleepwalking." He said in a hushed whisper.

"Well, we  gotta bring him back home." Gabriel whispered back, still following their little brother. As they rushed after the boy, Gabriel gave a little huff. "He's walking pretty fast, are you sure he's asleep?"

"Sleep walking is weird like that, you're both asleep and awake in a way. But seeing you don't really make memories, it's shock to be woken up during it, so-"

Miguel's explanation was cut short as he tripped over a  treeroot , dragging Gabriel along in his fall with a yelp. Gabriel grunted in pain before he quickly got back up, glaring at his brother.

"Careful, you'll wake Toni." He huffed sarcastically while dusting his legs off. Miguel rolled his eyes as he got up. "I'll break my neck silently next time." He huffed back.

"Guys, stop fighting." Michelle hissed as she and Carmen rushed past to continue the chase. Silently agreeing, the two boys ran after their sisters, this time a bit more careful.

After a bit, it seemed Antonio had arrived at his destination. Up ahead, there was a big stone gate, standing there on  it's own, covered in ivy and moss. The metal fence of the gate was rusted, and the main living habitat of the ivy. Sitting on top of the gate, were 5 ravens, who were preening themself a bit in the night air.

For a moment, the four siblings gaped at the ruin in awe. This thing had to be a relic from centuries ago. Certainly, it would've been recorded on a tourist map of the area or something. Or maybe they were the first to stumble across it?

The faint sound of Antonio's voice pulled them out of their stupor. To their horror and surprise, the ivy on the gate suddenly seemed to pull back at the boy's words, a light beginning to glow there. Before any of his siblings could do anything, Antonio stepped forward into the light, which grew bright and blinding. Once the light disappeared, the ivy and regrown, and the boy was gone.

For a long moment, the 4 remaining children could only stare in horror. Gabriel took a step forward. "...Where'd he  go ...?" He choked out, eyes widening as he rushed over to the gate. "Guys, where the fuck  did he go?!"

"This is bad.." Michelle whimpered as they followed Gabriel to the gate. The eldest was pulling at the gate, trying to tear through the ivy, yelling Antonio's name.

After a few tense moments, Miguel grabbed his brother by the shoulder. "Gaby, stop, it's not working." He snapped as he pulled him back.

Gabriel's face was streaked with tears by now, and he grit his teeth. "We need to get in there."

"I know, and we will find a way, but we need to stay calm." Migel nodded as he looked up at the gate. "...This must be the gate Toni was talking about during dinner. Do you guys remember what he said about it?"

" Well.. No. I didn't really listen..." Michelle mumbled. "But you can't blame us for that, Antonio is always telling wild and made-up stories." Carmen added.

"Does this look made-up?" Gabriel huffed, pointing at the gate. They all looked up at the gate again, now noticing that instead of 5, there were 4 ravens. That had to be some clue.

"Let's retrace his steps. So, Antonio stood here, looked up at the gate, and said something." Miguel soon said, going to stand there with his siblings. Squinting, he read the name on the gate. "...Raveleijn." 

The four of them jumped as the letters began to glow, revealing a text under it, a rhyme. Gabriel squinted at it. "...'Where ravens will be knights, noble and fine'?"

To their surprise, the vines covering the entrance suddenly pulled back, the same glow returning. "So.. ah.. now what?" Michelle asked. 

"Well, Antonio went in here, so we're doing the same." Miguel said. 

Loud cawing suddenly made them look up. The 4 ravens suddenly took flight, rushing up to them. Thinking they must be swooping down to attack  them, Gabriel pushed his siblings towards the gate so they could outrun the birds.

And as soon as they rushed through the gate, everything seemed to go black.


	3. Through the gate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning:  
> \- Creepy machine beast

After a moment of darkness, there was a big flash. A strange feeling of being stretched and changed. All of a sudden, Gabriel found himself on a horse, galloping out of the other side of the gate into bright sunlight. Reflexively, he grabbed the reins and pulled them, stopping the animal from running.

Shocked, he stared down at himself. He was suddenly clothed in red armour with golden accents. There was a heavy weight on his head, and he reached up to find a helmet shaped like a bird's head. As he pulled it off, it scraped along his cheek, causing a weird sensation, like he suddenly had a beard.

He hurried to get off of his horse, nearly falling off due to a strange shift in gravity. It seemed he had become a little taller, broader, no longer having a lanky 16-year-old body. Before he could properly freak out about the change, he noticed he was not alone.

There were 3 other people, who also hurried off of their horses. Gabriel stared in shock at the first one, a man dressed in green and bronze armour with a similar bird-shaped helmet, which the man quickly took off. The man looked... familiar, in a way. Kind of long black hair, bright green eyes, a light stubble. He took a step back at seeing Gabriel.

"Ah.. who.. Wha.." The man reached for his own throat in shock, as if startled by his own voice. Gabriel blinked, suddenly realizing who stood before him. "...Miguel?" He too startled at his voice, which had gotten deeper.

The man just blinked in shock, looking at him. "Wait.. Gabriel? How.. What on earth happened, you.."

They both looked at the other two people now, who were staring at them in shock. These two were young women, probably no older than 21. The first was dressed in deep purple  armour with silver accents, while the other had a similar outfit in blue, both of them having taken off their bird-like helmets. Even if he barely recognized them 10 years older, the fact that these two women looked identical told Gabriel enough.

"..Michelle..? Carmen...?"

"Gabriel?  What.. What happened?" Michelle asked, looking at herself and her sister in disbelief. Carmen was just too shocked to do or say anything besides staring at her blue  armour in confusion.

Miguel looked back at the gate and perked up. "The gate! The gate must've made us older!"

"That's impossible." Gabriel huffed, shaking his head. He blinked as he realized his hair had clearly grown longer and was a little braided at the sides.

"Well, how else would you explain all this? Unless this is just a big dream." Miguel mused, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Of course, we're all dreaming the same dream? That's even more impossible, Mig." Michelle sighed.

"You are right. It's not a dream, it's a nightmare."

The four looked over in shock to see a fifth knight, dressed in brown and golden armor, seated on a black horse. "What are you doing on my lands?"

Gabriel swallowed and held up his hands. "Ah, I.. We.. Excuse us, my lord, we weren't.. We just.."

The knight pulled his sword and pointed it at them. "Silence! You have trespassed, and you will pay for that. Surrender now, or pay-" His voice seemed to hit a squeaky note. "p-pay with your life...?"

The four of them blinked as the brown knight seemed to sag in defeat, taking off his helmet. Carmen finally broke her stupor to gape at the revealed face. "..Antonio?"

Antonio grinned brightly. "Yeah! See, I wasn't making this all up!~" He too had grown, now looking like he was 17, 18 at most. Gabriel nearly started to laugh, feeling like he was suddenly looking at his own normal 16-year-old body's clone.

"Jesus Christ, Toño, don't scare us like that." He chuckled, hugging the other once he got off of his horse. "Look at you... To be honest, this is kinda freaking me out."

"You look funny too! Like those photos of papa when he was younger~" Antonio grinned, pulling back to look at his siblings. "This is so cool, now I can show you guys this place too!~ We can be knights!"

"Now, now, hold up," Gabriel started. "We came here to get you, seeing you decided to just wander off in the middle of the night. Not to play knights."

"I'm not playing a knight, I am a knight now. C'mon, just for a bit?" Antonio pouted, lightly tugging his brother's hand.

"No, absolutely not, we're not-"

"Ah, Gabriel, don't be such a spoil sport. An hour can't hurt." Michelle said. "Like you said, it's the middle of the night back through the gate, mama and papa probably won't miss us. Besides, we're bigger now." Carmen added.

"Don't act like you're adults now, you're still 11!" Gabriel protested, looking over at Miguel for any support. Miguel kind of shuffled his feet.

"...Look, Gabriel, we can't just leave now. This is a new discovery! What if that gate was like.. A wormhole to the past? We can't just walk away from it, I wanna explore. Please? Just an hour. Then we can go back and forget about it if you want."

Gabriel rubbed at his face and sighed. "...An hour. No longer." He finally said. "Then we're going home."

" Great!~ Follow me, I know of some cool spots!~" Antonio cheered, getting on his horse again. His siblings mounted their horses too, and followed.

It was hard to deny that this wasn't pretty cool. Gabriel soon began to grin, enjoying the scenery going by. Where ever they had ended up, it was beautiful. Birds were flying overhead, and there was even a falcon, hunting for something, hanging perfectly still in the air.

After a bit, they got to a little pond in the woods, where they stopped to let the horses drink and rest a bit in the grass. Gabriel gave his horse a little pat on the neck, chuckling a bit and petting them more when the animal pressed their nose against his chest in a friendly gesture.

A sound in the distance made him look over. Someone seemed to be... singing. Glancing at his siblings, he gestured at them to stay put. "I'll go check it out. Maybe it's a person. You guys stay here."

"Yes dad." Michelle teased. Gabriel rolled his eyes and just stuck his tongue out her for a moment, before beginning to walk towards the sound. 

He held a hand close to the sword he'd gotten in the strange transformation. Even if he didn't know exactly how to use it, perhaps just holding a weapon would scare any attacker off. Soon, he reached a small river, and noticed exactly what or who had been singing. Someone was sitting by the river.

Gabriel nearly froze to the spot and quickly hid behind a tree. Glancing out from behind it, he took a better look at the figure by the river. It seemed to be a young, pale woman, in medieval clothes. Her blonde hair was pinned back in a bun, as she seemed to be doing the washing, humming. Sitting near her on a branch was an  eagle owl, preening itself a bit.

He swallowed, kind of feeling like a peeping tom all of a sudden. Perhaps he should go over, introduce himself, ask her what this place was. Though the armour might scare her off a bit. He'd have to make sure he looked non-threatening.

A sudden creaking sound pulled him out of his thoughts. It was clear the woman and the owl heard it too, as they glanced towards the sound. The owl screeched in alarm, flapping its wings before flying away. The woman's eyes grew wide as she scrambled to grab a large stick from the ground. And it soon became clear to Gabriel why.

From the forest, some sort of machine made of wood and metal came walking over. It looked like a strange cross between a dinosaur and a bird of prey, walking bipedal with two large claws for hands, a sharp beak, and a long tail. The woman held her improvised weapon tightly, carefully backing off as the creature advanced on her.

Gabriel knew such a measly stick would do nothing against a monster like that. He had to do something. He ran over, grabbing a rock and throwing it at the beast to direct its attention towards him. "Hey!"

The rock hit the creature in the head, making it look at him with a loud hiss. The woman looked at him in surprise and awe, grabbing her basket and slowly trying to back away to escape. Gabriel wanted to smile in reassurance at her, but he had a monster staring at him now. Quickly, he pulled his sword. "You... You leave her alone!"

The creature hissed menacingly at him, making him back up. His courage flying out the window, Gabriel quickly booked it, back to his siblings, hearing the monster stomping after him.

"GUYS!! HIDE!!"

His siblings looked at him in surprise, but followed quickly when Gabriel grabbed the twins by their arms and dragged them to some bushes to hide behind. Soon after the five of them had hid, the sound of the monster's footsteps stomped past. Gabriel made sure to keep Antonio's head down, seeing the other would be curious enough to sit upright.

After a long time of waiting, the monster seemed to have walked on. They slowly stood up from their hiding place. " ....What was  that..? " Michelle asked, staring at the monster in the distance.

"That seemed some sort of velociraptor type machine." Miguel frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "What could've built  that..? Why was it following you, Gaby?"

"I... It was attacking this woman. I saved her from it."

"Right, sure, by leading it our way. What a knight in shining  armor you are." Carmen huffed, rolling her eyes.

"I thought it was pretty cool~ It looked like a bite  beast!~ " Antonio grinned. His sisters began to chuckle. "A 'bite beast'? Dios  mio , you may look like you're an adult, Toño, but deep down you're still 8." Carmen giggled.

Antonio just shrugged, looking at the strange construction with glee. "We should follow it, and kill it, like real knights!~"

"We're not going anywhere near that thing again." Gabriel huffed, before glancing back at where he'd came from. "...I think we should follow the woman I saw. She must be living  nearby, she was doing her laundry when that beast attacked. Perhaps she knows where the hell we are. Let's stick together for now."

"Hey, you were the one who walked off." Miguel protested as they walked back to their horses. Gabriel decided to ignore that, getting back on his horse and lightly digging his heels in their flanks to make them go. His siblings followed his lead, and soon they were galloping down the road again.

After a while, they reached a clearing by the mountainside. There was a gate and large fence that had to be surrounding some sort of small settlement, perhaps one that went into the mountain. Carefully, everyone dismounted to walk up to the gate.

"Impressive. Look at how they build this. Rather primitive resources, and it's still a sturdy wall." Miguel mused. "See how they used mud and straw, and branches? This technique has been used for centuries, even back during the-"

"Let's leave the history lessons for later, shall we?" Gabriel huffed. He looked up at the gate. It seemed there were no guards, or perhaps there were, but they had hidden. Carefully, he knocked at the gate, and was surprise to see it open a bit. He glanced back at his siblings.

"Stay close."

Slowly, they walked in, holding their horses on their reigns. The animals seemed antsy, lightly neighing and kicking at the sand. Carmen gently rubbed her horse's nose, looking around. "...guys, I don't think we should be here.."

"I don't really like it here either.." Antonio muttered, biting his lip. "But we can be brave, right?"

Miguel smiled at him. " Of course we can. Don't worry, everything is going to be-"

Before he could finish that sentence, the gate suddenly slammed shut behind them. The horses began to freak out as people swarmed at the group from all directions, throwing nets at them. Gabriel tried to fight the sudden onslaught of people who were grabbing at them, but then there was a glimpse of some sort of wooden bat, and everything went dark yet again.


	4. The rebels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double chapter today, I felt like treating myself by writing my comfort project-  
> Hey, we're finally really getting to the good part of the plot-
> 
> Chapter warnings:  
> \- Threatening of "children"  
> \- Talk of war and harm to innocents  
> \- 16-year-olds being recruited for the army  
> \- Eye mutilation by bird (only briefly mentioned)  
> \- Gabriel being an overbearing but responsible older brother

The sound of Gilbert's hurried footsteps echoed through the halls. The count had asked for him, so the magistrate made sure to walk a bit faster, not too keen on angering the man by being late. He soon reached the door to the count's study, and knocked on the door before entering.

The count was sitting at his desk, a tired look in his eyes. He'd taken his glasses off, massaging his forehead a bit. Gilbert frowned worriedly, knowing this look. He'd seen the count use  Greyhawk's eyes many times, and the dark magic to do so seemed very draining. Lightly clearing his throat, Gilbert stood at attention.

"You called for me, lord Edelstein?"

Roderich looked at him, clearly still coming back to himself. He blinked a few times, then put his glasses back on with a serious expression. "That I did." He mused, standing up to walk over to the window. "...Gilbert, do you remember that knight that showed up at our borders a while ago?"

"I do. The one in brown and golden armour, correct?"

"Correct." Roderich frowned, looking back at Gilbert. "It seems he returned. And he brought company."

Gilbert frowned. "Company,  you say? How many, sir?"

"Grayhawk spotted five of them now. 3 men, including our mystery guest from before, and 2 women. All of them wearing this strange.. Birdlike armour in bright colours."

The count was pacing. Gilbert nodded, pondering the information. "...You don't think they belong to the exiled rebels, do you, my lord?"

"I don't know. But I want you to find out, Gilbert."

"Of course, lord Edelstein." Gilbert nodded, turning to leave the room. He nearly bumped into the countess, giving her a respectful nod before hurrying out the door and down the stairs again.

Elizabeta lightly frowned as she watched the magistrate hurry past, before walking over to her husband, who was sitting at his desk again. "What has Gilbert in such a hurry?"

"It seems the strange knight from before has returned, my dear. And he brought company." Roderich sighed, turning to some of his paperwork. Elizabeta blinked in confusion. "Oh? Well, perhaps they're just traveling crusaders?"

"No, they are too well armed for that. I'm sure that first one was a scout. But don't worry, my love." Roderich took her hand and pressed a kiss to it. "Gilbert will make sure they won't come this way."

Elizabeta smiled lightly. "Yes, of course. I'm not too worried. I'm sure everything will be fine." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Don't overwork yourself too much, alright?" She mused before leaving the room again. As she walked down the stairs, she clutched the amulet that was hidden under her bodice.

The plan was working.

* * *

His head was pounding when Gabriel regained consciousness. He sat up with a groan, finding himself in a cave by a campfire, his hands bound behind his back. His siblings were waking up too, all of them with their hands bound. A small crowd of people were staring at them, distrusting and clearly wanting to harm them.

Gabriel tried to reach for his sword, only to find it gone. He looked around blearily, before he suddenly spotted where the sword had gone. It was pointing at his throat by a man dressed in leather scraps.

The man frowned down at him and his siblings, before glancing at the sword he'd taken from the eldest. "A fine blade." He mused in a rough voice.  ".. They don't make them like this anymore these days. Now tell me, who are you?" He was pointing the blade at Gabriel again.

Gabriel stubbornly kept his mouth closed, giving a glare at his terrified siblings so they'd do the same. He cringed at feeling the sharp edge against his throat, lightly cutting into his skin. The man above him frowned.

"Stubborn, huh? Well, we have ways to make you talk. Perhaps I should-"

"Lutz!" A voice suddenly snapped. The woman from before suddenly came walking over, grabbing the man's arm. "Let them go, now."

Lutz rolled his eyes, lightly pushing her away. "I don't think you're in charge here, girlie." He huffed, staring her down with clear distaste. The woman looked ready to snarl something back, until another voice joined them.

"No, but I am."

An elderly man came walking over, carefully feeling around with his cane, as his eyes were covered with a dark cloth. The woman quickly hurried over to him, taking him by the arm.

"It's her." Gabriel hissed at his siblings. "That's the woman I saw."

"Well, we know where she lives now, don't we?" Miguel huffed sarcastically.

The woman was talking in hushed tones with the elderly man. "Father, it's alright. The one in red saved me from an Edel, led it away from me. It attacked them, so I'm sure they're not with Edelstein."

The man seemed to think for a moment, then turned into Lutz's direction. "Lutz, let them go."

"But-"

"I said let them go. If Sanne says an Edel attacked them, they're not with the count."

Lutz frowned a bit, then begrudgingly went to cut their restraints. The five of them frowned at Lutz, rubbing at their wrists as they got up. The old man smiled lightly at them.

"I do apologize for this rude welcome. We cannot be careful  enough, the count sends spies all the time."

"Yeah, well, we're clearly not with some count." Gabriel huffed. "We don't even know where we are anyways."

"Yeah, we came through some gate after a lady in my head told me about it." Antonio mused.

"...Excuse me? What did you say?" The elderly man asked, clearly curious. Miguel chuckled lightly. "Oh, don't worry about him, sir. Antonio has a very active imagination. Though the gate story is true, as strange as it sounds."

The man just seemed to stare them down for a bit, then gestured them to follow. "Come, let's sit and discuss this in a more... private setting." He began to walk away witht he guidance of his daughter. After a moment of hesitating, the five of them followed.

They were sat down by another campfire, and offered some water and food by Sanne. Gabriel gratefully took a cup, giving her a small smile. As they all sat, the man looked in Antonio's direction. "So, Antonio, tell me about this voice you heard."

"Hold up." Gabriel huffed. "First, we get captured, knocked out, and threatened by your people, and now you suddenly want to interrogate my little brother about his imaginary voice? I would like to know what's going on here first."

The man nodded. "You're right, I apologize. My name is Adrianus. I am, for the lack of a better term, the leader of the exiled people of Raveleijn."

"Raveleijn? That was the name on the gate, right?" Michelle asked.

"Indeed. Raveleijn is a beautiful city, not far from here. It was once a very prosperous place, under rule of count Roderich Edelstein, and his wife, countess Elizabeta. The count and countess loved their subjects, and they too were beloved by the people. I was their advisor at court, and they trusted me like a dear friend. But this changed one day, when a man called Ivan Braginski came to court."

They saw how the man held his cane a bit tighter.

"Braginski came to court with a warning, he said. A warning that Raveleijn was in danger of dark forces who wanted to seize power from the count. It was strange news to us, seeing our lands had always been a safe place. So, the count was wary, but thanked him for the warning."

"And? Was it true? Was Raveleijn in danger?" Miguel asked. Adrianus gave a nod.

"It seemed like it. Not soon after Braginski warned count Roderich, things started to happen. Travellers were robbed, farmers' harvests were stolen, people were attacked. Our magistrate, Gilbert, had his hands full. He couldn't be everywhere at the same time. Braginski seemed to have caught wind of this, and appeared at court again. This time with a suggestion. Raveleijn would need guards. Soldiers. And this time, the count listened. The guards of Raveleijn were soon put into service."

"That must've helped, right?" Carmen mused.

"It did. For a while. The guards guarded the roads, and the number of robberies seemed to go down. But then, they returned with a vengeance. Worse than before the guards were employed. And it seemed Braginski knew how desperate count Roderich had become. He suggested an army this time. I protested, finding this too rash. But Roderich had been convinced. And now, he needed another advisor. One who knew about how to wage war."

"Oh, that's awful! I bet that Bra.. Bri... That guy took your job!" Antonio said.

Adrianus just nodded. "Yes, he did. Braginski got my job. And guided by his advice, Roderich began to make big changes. The borders were closed, the taxes were raised to help pay for weapons, and an army was made. The citizens of Raveleijn did not know the price they had to pay for safety."

His voice began to shake a bit.

"The first son of the family to turn 16 would be ordered to join the count's army. Young men were just picked up from the street without even a warning beforehand to their family. Many mothers only received a letter from the guards, telling them their sons were now part of the army. We were lucky to be in the market together when my Nicolaas was taken, he was allowed to say a goodbye. But that was the last day we saw him."

Tears were flowing down from behind the blindfold. Sanne was also shaking a bit. Gabriel wanted to take her hand to comfort her, but he didn't know if she would let him. He swallowed a bit. "..But, ah.. what did the countess think of all this?"

Adrianus huffed a bit. 

"She didn't agree with any of this, I believe. But I barely saw her anymore. She used to walk around the market with her husband, but those days were long gone. But one day, she had me summoned to the castle for a favour. She was worried for her husband, as he had changed, had grown more and more paranoid. She asked me to talk to him, to try and make him see reason. So, I tried."

He began to frown.

"..It did not work. Roderich accused me of turning his wife against him, and of treason because I accused Braginski of lying about those 'enemies' that were supposedly out there. I figured I would be thrown in jail. But Braginski made the count give me a worse fate. A falcon was sent to me."

He touched the blindfold for a moment.

"...After that, we knew we could not stay in Raveleijn. That night, we left, along with a handful of others who no longer thought of the city as a safe place. We found these caves, and made it our home. And here we wait, until Raveleijn is safe for us once again."

"What about Elizabeta? She couldn't have agreed with this awful punishment." Miguel said.

"That is the thing. Through people who joined us later, we heard that the countess was planning on making her husband send Braginski away for this, but that the count had already done so before she could even demand it. But even though that man was gone, the damage had been done to Roderich. He's still paranoid. His Edels patrol the roads, and his own falcon, Greyhawk, constantly keeps an eye on the entire county."

"Edels..?" Carmen asked. "Wait, you mean those metal monsters? And how does a bird keep an eye on the county?"

"Most likely magic, dear girl. I fear that in his paranoid state, Roderich even turned to the dark arts. It's horrible, yes, but luckily, there is hope on the horizon for us." Adrianus seemed to stare right at them. "A prophecy. 'If Raveleijn is in danger, the countess will summon 5 knights of the elements to save the city from those that threaten her.'"

"That sounds, ah.. interesting." Gabriel mused. There was a silence, and it suddenly hit him. "...Wait, no. No, no, no. You can't possibly be thinking that we..."

"We're the knights?" Antonio finished, beginning to light up with glee. "Really? That's so cool!"

"Yes, we are quite sure of it. And I am quite sure that you heard Elizabeta in your head, Antonio. There are five of you, and you have come in our time of need. We will help you on this quest, and march into battle with you as you fight for our freed-"

"Now hold on a moment!" Gabriel huffed, standing up. "No! Absolutely not! We're not your chosen ones!"

"But Gabriel!" Antonio protested. Gabriel shook his head. "No, Toni, we are not doing this. It is too dangerous. I am putting my foot down right now as the eldest, we are not doing this."

"You're not Papa!" Michelle huffed, crossing her arms.

"No, but someone has to be the responsible one here. You and Carmen may look like you're grown now, but  non of you are adults. And neither am I, but I suppose I must act like the adult here. We are going home, end of discussion."

"Gabriel.." Miguel started, then quieted down when his brother shot him a warning glare. He crossed his arms, mumbling something under his breath. Gabriel sighed, turning back to Adrianus and Sanne, who looked at them in sad confusion.

"Look. We're really sorry about what happened to you. But we cannot be your chosen ones, it is too dangerous. I do hope you find them. Really."

Adrianus seemed to frown a bit, then nodded. "I understand. Then let us at least sent you home with some extra supplies. Come, we will bring you to your horses."

Gabriel sighed a thank you, then gestured his siblings to follow. They followed him with clear reluctance, but Gabriel decided to ignore it. They would understand once they were a bit older, at his age. Mentally, they were not prepared to fight in a rebellion. And neither was he.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

Their horses' reigns were tied near the entrance of the camp, and the animals neighed happily at seeing their riders. Gabriel gently rubbed his horse's nose, checking the animal for any wounds they may have gotten in the struggle. Luckily, there were non. As he put some of the given supplies in the saddlebags, he heard someone approach.

"Must you really leave? You could help us."

Gabriel looked back at Sanne, who was watching him with pained sadness in her eyes. He bit his lip. "Look, your father must be mistaken. We're not heroes, especially not me."

"You seemed rather brave to me, chasing that Edel away."

He chuckled lightly. "You must've missed the part where I ran away, huh?"

They shared a slight chuckle. Sanne put a hand on his arm. "..We could really use your help here, you know."

"As much as I want to, I don't have a choice." Gabriel sighed.

"Of course you do." She mused, patting his arm. "Perhaps you're not ready to make a choice, but that's not having one. Just... think about it. We... I would be glad if you did."

Gabriel watched her, a little speechless. He wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Miguel, who walked up to him.

"We're ready to go. They gave me directions back to the gate, so we can leave."

Gabriel swallowed a bit, looking away. Miguel raised an eyebrow, seeing how Sanne pulled her hand away. "...You did want to leave... right?"

"Yeah. Yes, of course. Be there in a moment."

Miguel gave a nod, looking at Sanne one last time before walking over to his horse. Gabriel sighed, noticing how Sanne was frowning. "...I'm sorry."

She just shook her head and walked off. Gabriel bit his lip a bit, trying to push away the feeling of pain in his heart. He got on his horse, putting his helmet back on and beginning to lead the horse out the gate again.

"You really want to leave huh?" Miguel mused as his horse walked next to Gabriel's. Gabriel huffed lightly. "Of course."

"Then why do you look like you want to stay?"

Gabriel felt himself freeze just slightly, before shaking it off and making his horse break into a canter, before going into a gallop. He heard his siblings follow, ignoring the doubt in his mind.

After a while, they got back to the gate, stopping near it. It looked like a normal gate from here, which just seemed to lead down a forest path. 

"So now what? We just go through it?" Michelle asked.

"Seems like the only way that makes sense to me. Come on." Gabriel said, digging his heels in the horse's flanks. One by one, they all galloped through the gate, and were greeted by the same bright flash.

Gabriel stumbled a bit before falling face-first on the damp and leaf-covered ground with a grunt. He heard his siblings hit the ground behind him, and sat up to look at them, squinting through the darkness of the night. His siblings had all returned to their normal ages, as had he.

Miguel dusted himself off a bit, staring at his normal 14-year-old self. "... So. . Now what?"

"We go home. And we forget all about this shit. We don't even speak a word of that place anymore." Gabriel sighed, getting up.

"We can't even tell mama and papa?" Michelle asked, frowning. Gabriel shook his head, picking Antonio up, as the young boy seemed rather tired from all this. "Especially not them. C'mon, what do we tell them anyway? They'll think we dreamed. Let's just go home and get back to bed."

He began walking away, carrying Antonio on his back. Michelle and Carmen sighed and followed, while Miguel glanced back at the gate one more time.

The 5 ravens were sitting on the gate again, watching them walk away. But something about their gaze wasn't judging. For some reason, Miguel could've sworn he heard a voice, whispering in his ear.

_ We  _ _ will _ _ wait for you. _


	5. Voices of the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM GETTING MY OWN APARTMENT-  
> Time to celebrate with more of my guilty pleasure project :D  
> Don't worry, "El Tritón" is still in the works, I kinda hit a writer's block, trying to kick it down rn-
> 
> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Kinda creepy way of getting a teenager to fulfill a prophecy I guess  
> \- Fake friends

"You're certain that you saw what you saw?"

Gilbert nodded, standing at attention before the count's table. "Yes, my lord. I followed those knights to the gate at the edge of our borders. They rode through, but they just.. didn't come out on the other end. I tried to follow, but I could just go through the gate like normal. They just disappeared, my lord. Like magic."

Roderich glanced at him, frowning lightly.  ".. Magic, you say?"

The magistrate nodded again. "Yes, sir. Like magic. As strange as it sounds, I could send a few guards that way to guard the gate. In case they return?"

"That won't be needed." Roderich reached over to the perch next to him, and gently stroked a few fingers along  Greyhawk's feathers, feeding the hawk a bit of the meat on his plate. " Greyhawk will guard the Western front for me. If those knights return, I will take care of them. Dismissed."

Giving a nod and a bow, Gilbert left the room again. Though he didn't fail to notice how the countess clutched her cup a bit tighter, nor how she was hiding a frown.

* * *

There were a lot of tired looking faces the next morning. The five children sat at the kitchen table for breakfast, all of them looking like they had barely slept. Miguel had already nearly spilled his tea as he tried to sip it, beginning to nod off at the table.

Their father however, was awake and chipper as ever. "Anyone want an egg?" He mused as he stood by the stove. Getting no answer, he turned with a chuckle. "Anyone ?~ "

"I want a fried egg." Antonio piped up with a sleepy smile. Ramon smiled back, turning to the stove again. "One fried egg coming up~"

Gabriel rubbed at his eyes a bit, letting out a big yawn and grunting in protest when Michelle kicked his shin for not covering his mouth.  ".. cut it out." He huffed, lightly kicking back.

"Sounds like you barely slept, Gaby." Ramon mused as he put a fried egg on Antonio's plate. "Rough night?"

"You have no idea." Carmen muttered. She sputtered a bit when their father looked at her curiously. " I.. ah.. We all didn't get much  sleep I think. Maybe it was the weather?"

Ramon thought about it and nodded in understanding. "I get that. There was a bit of a storm last night. Didn't stop your mother from being in her workshop, painting all night though. Got hit with inspiration, she said."

The kids hummed in unison, remembering how their mother often spent nights in the attic to paint. "I'll bring her some breakfast later." Miguel offered, finally managing to take a bite of his sandwich. The twins giggled lightly at that, and earned a little kick to the ankle.

After breakfast, the children all dispersed to go do their own thing. Antonio went to play in the nearby sandpit, the twins went to go talk to the friends on social media and show off their puppy, Gabriel retreated to the backyard to play a bit of guitar, and Miguel went to bring a plate of food to their mother's door and study his nature notes after that.

They all seemed to slowly go back to normal life, not speaking of the gate. But Antonio seemed  to often glance longingly into the forest, and Miguel was quieter than usual. Even the twins seemed less chipper, which even  Rizada noticed, judging from the puppy's  behaviour . 

Gabriel tried his best to ignore the feelings of doubt, pushing away the memory of pained olive-green eyes. His fingers seemed to play sad tones of love songs whenever he plucked at his guitar, and he tried to remember how to play the rock songs he was practicing with the band. He'd still hadn't heard back from them.

One morning, Ramon came walking past him as he sat in the garden. His father was dressed in some sort of hazmat suit, complete with a gasmask. Gabriel looked him up and down for a moment. "...Lemme guess, you found asbestos in our rooms?"

"Ah, no." Ramon chuckled, taking off the gasmask. "There's a lot of greenflies in the wine orchard. I'm going to spray the orchard down with this  bug spray , completely natural and biological though."

"Right, natural and biological. Just like arsenic." Gabriel muttered, turning back to his guitar. He could feel his father kind of staring him down.

"You're in a bit of a mood these last days, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dad." Gabriel sighed.

"Just trying to help. Perhaps I ran into the same problems when I was  your age."

Gabriel couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Yeah, I doubt it." He muttered.

"...Girl problems?"

His fingers froze on the strings for a moment. "No, dad. It's not girl problems." He huffed, looking up at his father, who raised an eyebrow. "...And it's not boy problems either, just leave me alone for a bit."

"I'm only trying to have a serious conversation with my son, who is clearly troubled by something." Ramon sat down next to him.

"I don't think the conversation can be serious if you wear an outfit like that." Gabriel sighed.  ".. I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"...Alright, I understand. Then I'll get back to work. How about you go down to the village for me, get us some bread for the weekend. Might help with your mood too, a bike ride to clear your head."

Ramon patted his shoulder a bit and got up. Gabriel frowned a bit, not really in the mood to go down to the village. But perhaps dad was right, and this was a good distraction from all... this.

The ride down to the village was a calm one. Though Gabriel had the sinking feeling people were sort of staring at him. He shook it off.  Of course they were staring at him, he was one of the "city folk" they disliked down here. Hopefully that sentiment would pass soon.

Stopping at the bakery, he parked his bike and locked it. But as he stood up straight, he froze for a moment. Across the street was a familiar woman, her blonde hair out of the bun, staring at him with sadness in her eyes. Gabriel recoiled and nearly fell over his bicycle, doing a double take. But instead of seeing Sanne there, there was only an  elderly lady, who just frowned at him before walking further.

Gabriel rubbed at his eyes a bit. He had to stop dwelling on what happened.  With a sigh, he quickly walked into the bakery. The baker was just finished with another customer, and she smiled in greeting at him. 

"Good afternoon. What can I help you with?"

"A loaf of brown bread and a bag of about 10 bagels, please."

"Do you want the loaf sliced?"

"Yes please."

"Coming right up, just a moment." The woman smiled. Gabriel gave her a friendly nod, and looked around the shop a bit. It was one of those rustic and  old-fashioned bakeries, which probably still used the same stones as back in the middle ages. He looked over when he heard the woman return, and suddenly had to step back.

Instead of the baker, he was suddenly face to face with an old man who looked right at death's door. His face was sunken in, his clothes were rags, his eyes dull and pleading. He reached out to Gabriel with thin, knobby fingers.

" **_ We need you. Return to Raveleijn. Defeat count Edelstein. Help us, save us, please!!" _ **

Gabriel raised his arms in defence, stumbling back. "No!"

"Sir?"

He blinked and lowered his arms. The image of the old man was gone, revealing the baker standing there with the bread and bagels in hand. She worriedly looked at him as she handed him the bread. "..you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright? Do you need help?"

"N-No, no, I'm fine, I just.. Here." He quickly paid for the bread and rushed out the door, barely hearing the lady call after him that he forgot his change. Gabriel rushed back to his bicycle, then stopped when he saw what sat there on his saddle.

The raven stared at him with intelligent beady eyes, lightly ruffling its feathers. It cawed a bit, but flew off when Gabriel shooed it away. He watched it go with a frown, then groaned in frustration when he looked back to see two ravens sitting on his handlebar.

"No. No, absolutely not. I'm not going back. Go ahead and tell that to your owner."

The two ravens stared at him, tilting their heads a bit. When Gabriel shooed them away too, one of them flew right past his face, a feather landing on his shoulder. He stared at it for a moment, then quickly brushed it off and went to unlock his bike.

The ride back home seemed to last forever. In every tree he passed, Gabriel thought he saw a raven, staring him down. He hurried down the road to the house, and rushed inside as quick as he could. After placing the bread and bagels on the kitchen counter, he rushed upstairs to his room.

He lightly smacked at his face. "Alright, Gabriel, focus. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real." He muttered at himself, reaching for his phone. Perhaps he should call the guys again, tell them he was coming their way. He needed to focus on anything but this place.

But as the phone was picked up on the other side, Gabriel could hear loud guitar music over his friend's voice.

"Hey Gaby, how are you man??"

"I'm alright, thanks. What's that music in the background?"

"Oh, that's Artie, our new guitar player! You're still in the band of course, but we did need someone on location to play, so I hope that's not too bad?"

Gabriel didn't answer, a cold feeling of dread pooling in his stomach. He barely heard the faint "Hello?" from his phone before he just hung up and threw his phone on the bed. Pissed off, he stomped back out of his room.

He stopped at the door to his mother's workshop. There was a plate of this morning's breakfast still standing there on the table near the door, along with a cold cup of tea. Frowning, he picked the plate up, and walked inside with it.

"Mom?"

His mother was nowhere to be found. But the workshop was full of paintings. Isabel had clearly been painting quite a lot these days. Gabriel placed the plate down on the table next to the large easel, and froze at seeing the painting his mother was working on.

It was him. Well, not exactly him. It was the him he'd been past the gate, in the red and golden  armour . Isabel had painted him seated on his horse, without the helmet, with a sword drawn high as his horse reared back on their hind legs.

Gabriel glanced around the workshop, spotting more paintings, of his siblings as they were beyond the gate. There was Carmen, holding up what appeared to be some sort of glaive. Miguel, holding a crossbow, aiming it beyond the viewer. Michelle with some sort of metal disk that she was clicking into a stick. And Antonio, holding up two long  bronze daggers.

"Gabriel?"

He jumped a bit as his mother walked back in, holding some clean paint brushes. Isabel smiled lightly at her eldest as she walked over. "Everything alright, mijo?"

" I.. I'm fine. Just admiring the art. It's pretty."

"Thank you, Gaby. I've been very inspired these last days. Amazing what some fresh air can do for the creative soul huh?" She chuckled a bit, walking over to the easel.

Gabriel nodded a bit, fidgeting. "Yeah. What ah... What inspired you to make all these?"

"Well, it's a bit complicated. I keep dreaming of this woman. She tells me to paint these images, so I do it. Look, I painted her too." Isabel went to grab a painting from the pile, placing it down for him. Gabriel froze at the sight of the familiar brunette woman in the black dress, the woman who saved him from the knights in his dream.

"I call her the Raven Woman." Isabel mused. "I always see ravens near her whenever she appears in my dreams." She traced the image of one of the ravens that sat on the woman's arm. "...I know it sounds strange, but whenever she appears, I get so much inspiration to paint. Maybe she's my muse. Or a relative from centuries ago."

"Yeah." Gabriel muttered, still staring at the painting. The image of the woman seemed to stare back into his soul. Even though her face was painted with a neutral expression, it almost seemed like the woman was... disappointed. It made his insides twist with guilt. He swallowed a bit, turning to his mother. "I'll leave you to paint. Do you want tea?"

"No, thank you,  niño . Are you alright? You look a little pale all of a sudden."

He just nodded, stepping away. "I'm okay. Have fun painting." He forced a smile, then quickly rushed back out of the workshop. As he rushed down to the garden, he stopped for a moment to look at his siblings, who were sitting there, doing their own thing. After a brief moment, he walked up to Miguel.

".. We're going back."

Surprised, Miguel looked up from his book. "...What do you mean?"

"We're going back to Raveleijn."

Carmen and Michelle looked up from where they were playing around on their phones. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I know for a fact you two are not deaf, so I won't repeat it again." Gabriel huffed, crossing his arms. "We're going back tonight."

"Really??" Antonio beamed, before rushing up to hug his brother with a big grin. "Thank you!!"

" But, I thought you said.." Miguel began, at which Gabriel waved a hand at him. 

"I.. I changed my mind, alright? We go back tonight, while mom and dad are asleep."

* * *

The night was rather cold. Gabriel glanced at the house from where he was waiting in the garden with Antonio and Miguel. Michelle and Carmen would be there soon, he hoped. They had been waiting in their rooms for hours now, waiting to hear the sound of their parents going to bed.

"You don't suppose they fell back asleep?" Miguel mused as he helped Antonio with his scarf. "Maybe I should check?"

Gabriel was about to sigh and nod, when he heard the twins' footsteps. Carmen and Michelle walked up to them with smile, but seeing who, or rather what they brought along, made Gabriel frown. "..Why on earth are you taking the dog with you?"

"We had to! Otherwise, she would've barked and whined everyone awake." Michelle huffed, holding the puppy close. Carmen stroked the puppy's back a bit. "We'll tie her to a tree or something before we go through the gate, don't worry."

"You know what, fine. There's no time to argue right now. Let's go." Gabriel sighed, gesturing his siblings to follow him into the forest. It didn't take long before they reached the gate, which still looked rather creepy in the dark.

"Look." Miguel mused, pointing up at the gate. 5 ravens were sitting there again. "Seems we're expected." He joked.

"They waited for us." Antonio grinned, happily swaying back and forth. Gabriel rolled his eyes in amusement, looking at his siblings. "Everyone ready?"

"Almost." Carmen mused, going to a nearby tree with Michelle to tie  Rizada to it for the time being. After gently cooing at her and kissing the puppy's head, the two girls joined their brothers. "Alright, ready."

"Good." Gabriel mused, setting towards the gate with them. He stared up at the gate. ".. Raveleijn . Where ravens will be knights, noble and fine." He spoke, watching the letters begin to glow. Soon enough, the gate opened for them, and the ravens up top took flight. Grinning, the five siblings quickly ran through the opening.

The same stretching and growing sensation overtook them, and a few seconds later the five of them galloped out of the gate, stopping not too far away. Gabriel smiled at the somehow already familiar feeling of his horse's breathing underneath him, and gently patted their neck in greeting.

A barking sound suddenly made them look back. A dog had  ran out the gate behind them, and stood there barking at them in confusion. Gabriel groaned as he recognized the curly brown fur and the lilac collar.  ".. You've got to be kidding me."

Carmen and Michelle quickly dismounted, gasping at the dog. " Rizada ! Bad girl, we told you to stay!" Michelle huffed. The now adult dog barked again, still confused. She backed away a bit when Carmen held out a hand to her.

" Rizada , it's  alright.. It's us. It's alright, c'mon.." Carmen gently cooed. "Come here, Rizza, c'mon~"

Rizada's tail quickly began to wag at the nickname, and she rushed at the twins to lick their faces. They giggled and showered the dog with pets and kisses, cooing at her.

Miguel chuckled a bit at the sight. "Hey, I hate to break up a cute moment, but we came here to do something. Is she coming with?"

" Of course she is!" Carmen mused. "We can't just leave her behind, stupid." Michelle added, grinning.

"Then let's get going already." Gabriel sighed, looking around to see which way they had to go.  ".. Which way was it again?"

"That way." Antonio mused, pointing into a direction. "That nice lady is telling me so in my head again. Let's go!~" And before his siblings could agree, he was already galloping away again. Gabriel cursed softly, digging his heels into his horse's flanks.

"C'mon, let's go before we lose him again."


End file.
